The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

This chapter is one of the most poignant and beautifully written I have ever read in any book.

First of all, the image of the worried and lonely father sitting by the water waiting for his son just broke my heart. The part that really gave me chills though, was when Pan appeared before Rat and Mole with the baby otter in his arms. Those moments before they see Pan are so vividly described and the scene I see in my mind as I read it is incredible. I wish that I was artistically inclined so that I could at least try to represent this scene visually. I don't know how one goes about trying to write and create such a powerful moment but Grahame did wonderfully. I was kind of scared when Pan had Portly in His arms that he was dead...thankfully, he was just sleeping. As I was reading it I tried to imagine what a child would think of this part of the book. Would they be scared? Would they think it comforting? I suppose it depends partially on religious beliefs and the age of the child, but I still wonder.

There was a huge emphasis on music throughout the story but especially in this chapter. The melody that Rat and Mole hear entraps them almost. It reminded me of the Sirens in the Odyssey but there the Siren was a trap and here, while Rat and Mole both admit that they are scared, they are also so at peace and the experience is a good one, albeit short lived since they forget it all almost immediately. I found that one of Pink Floyd's albums is named after the chapter, and Van Morrison's 1997 album "The Healing Game" there is a song called "Piper at the Gates of Dawn." I don't have that album so I can't listen to the song, but I listened to the sample and it's very soothing. Here are the lyrics:

The coolness of the riverbank, and the whispering of the reeds
Daybreak is not so very far away

Enchanted and spellbound, in the silence they lingered
And rowed the boat as the light grew steadily strong
And the birds were silent, as they listened for the heavenly music
And the river played the song

The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn

The song dream happened and the cloven hoofed piper
Played in that holy ground where they felt the awe and wonder
And they all were unafraid of the great god Pan

And the wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn

When the vision vanished they heard a choir of birds singing
In the heavenly silence between the trance and the reeds
And they stood upon the lawn and listened to the silence

Of the wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn

It's the wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn
The wind in the willows and the piper at the gates of dawn

Fun stuff huh? I look forward to listening to other reactions to this book and especially this chapter. :O)

The Wind in the Willows

After a short but thoroughly enjoyable journey with Kenneth Grahame's book, I have come to the end of the story. I loved it! This was my first experience with this book. We never read it or any of the condensed versions when I was a kid. All that I distinctly remember about the story at all is that I rode on "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" at Disneyland. That being my only prior exposure to the story, I was already excited to read it.

Just in general, I loved the writing. Grahame is so eloquent. His language is carefully chosen and poetic, lovely to read and even more lovely to listen to. Because of the beautiful writing the book was a treat for me and I was sad when I got to the end. I also loved the parts where he played with the language...like on page 125 he writes, "...and Toad was a helpless prisoner in the remotest dungeon of the best-guarded keep of the stoutest castle in all the length and breadth of Merry England."

Something that I noticed more than once in the book was the call to adventure. We talked a little about his in class back in the first or second week and this book exemplified that to me. On page one Mole is just casually minding his own business, cleaning his house and BAM! "Something up above was calling him imperiously." How many of us would just do that? Just up and leave for...I don't even know how long. Just go where we go. The adventurous spirit takes Rat over too as he listens to the seafaring Rat tell stories. The sea rat says, " 'And you, you will come too, young brother; for the days pass, and never return, and the South still waits for you. Take the Adventure, heed the call, now ere the irrevocable moment passes!' " (185) I love that! I wish that I was so free spirited and unattached that I could just go to the places I've always wanted to go. I think that this sea rat is telling us something very important. For all that we want to do and feel like we should do out of responsibility rather than desire, we are only guaranteed THIS one life. We can pretty much do with it what we want but the days will pass and they cannot be given back to us. DON'T WASTE THEM!!!!

The connections with Ulysses and the Odyssey were interesting as well. When I read that Toad Hall was taken over by squatters I didn't really make the connection right away. But the title of the last chapter really hits you over the head with a 2 by 4. Going back through Toad's journey, one can definitely see similarities with Ulysses. Especially on page 155 when Grahame writes, "It was hard [Toad] thought, to be within sight of safety and almost home, and to be baulked by the want of a few wretched shillings.." Poor Toad, like poor Ulysses, is sooo close. He just can't seem to get out of his luck. I think though that Toad and Ulysses are two very different characters. Ulysses had Poseidon against him which made his journey ten times as har. Toad, however, just made dumb decisions and was arrogant. It's a lot easier to feel sorry for Ulysses than Toad.

It's late and I have a ton to do tomorrow so I'll ponder the rest of my notes and especially "The Pipers at the Gates of Dawn" next time.

How my life is displaced myth

How IS my life displaced myth? The story of Michelle's day began so perfectly..."After three days with no newspaper, something had to be done..." I simply don't know where to begin with my story. I was a happy accident for my parents who, unlike most of our fairy tale moms and dads, had not wished and hoped for a child at the time I was conceived. I guess puts me out of the running for "Sleeping Beauty" and " Rapunzel." I am though, the eldest of three sisters who look a lot alike but are all very different. This is beginning to sound familiar...kind of like the stories within the motif "The Art of Good Conduct." In Lheritier's story The Discreet Princess; or, The Adventures of Finette there are three sisters who are very different: Nonchalante, Babbler, and Finette. In this story, the eldest is kind of an airhead. She doesn't care about anything and she's lazy. Now, in real life (whatever that means), most oldest siblings are the least lazy and nonchalant. I'm a classic type A person. Why is the youngest always the virtuous one who gets the prince?

Anyway, aside from the sisters...maybe I'm just at the beginning of my tale. I suppose that I should be patient and let life happen. I'm just waiting for a rabbit with a waistcoat and watch to hop across my path, or for a water genie to wake me in the middle of the night. I am waiting for a fissure to open in my world and when it does, I'll take the journey it offers me.

As for group 3's motifs...I like them! I think that the "Bloodthirsty Husbands" was my favorite, though I'm not sure why. I think I liked those partially because the woman had to think her way out of her situation. The women were also pretty dumb though. All these people in fairy tales are dumb. My advice, if someone tells you that he is going to kill you if you look in his closet, don't do it. Just don't. If he doesn't want you to see what's there then it's either really good or REALLY bad. "Curiosity killed the cat" and these ladies obviously don't know that.

The motif of "Incestuous Fathers" was quite interesting to read also because the stories, surprisingly for me, were the story of Cinderella. I was not expecting that. Now, let me just admit now that prior to this course, most of my exposure to "fairy tale" was form Disney...that said, you can see how I would feel confused by Cinderella being put in with stories about incestuous dads. Dad and mom were dead in Disney's version. Now, as close as these tales come to the story of Cinderella, the tale is also fully represented in the motif "The Revenge and Reward of Neglected Daughters." That such a canonical tale can be seen so prominently in more than one (and likely more than two or three) motifs is quite interesting. It definitely shows the interconnectedness of the tales and their evolution over time.

It's late and I have to work in the morning...cheers!

Questions we have to ask ourselves...

This is a letter to the editor from my hometown newspaper (the Fairbanks, Alaska Daily News Miner) that I found among old high school papers. What do we think?

Anything safe?
Nov 12, 1999

To the editor:
Is there anything safe to read that does not offend someone? As time passes, I become more bewildered and in doubt. As a child I enjoyed these stories and as a parent I shared them with my children, now I'm not sure it was a good idea. Our favorite characters and the bad habits they promoted could cause all the crime and violence we have today.

Our favorites were: "William Tell" 9child endangerment); "Three Little Pigs" (poor planning and faulty construction); "Robin Hood" (poaching is justified if you have a band of merry men); "Humpty Dumpty" (seek unqualified medical help); "Jack Horner" (unsanitary eating habits); "Jack and Jill" (possible mischif); "Little Red Riding Hood" (vigilantism); "Sleeping Beauty" (unsolicited sex); "Cinderella" (disobediance to parents); Sherlock Holmes (promotes smoking; Santa Claus (breaking and entering and slavery).

Is it any wonder we have an uncontrollable society today? As a responsible parent and citizen can we continue to read and teach our children these kinds of stories? I think not! This looks like a job for "Super Legislator."

Unralistically yours,
Donald Adams
Tok

Regarding "Beauty and the Beast"

I love the way that Dr. Sexson is showing us Beauty and the Beast because it exemplifies the reason that I LOVE studying English literature. The connections between new literature and ancient literature are fascinating and we are weaving this web of interconnectedness that, I think, makes every story richer. Being able to trace a story from antiquity to present day is something that I think adds depth to a story. We will never again watch Disney's version of Beauty and the Beast without thinking of Cupid and Psyche or Pride and Prejudice, stories of the Bible and Homeric epic poems. We can then compare and contrast the tales, see how they have changed and how they have stayed the same over time.

I was reading more in that history book I mentioned in an earlier entry, Gail Bederman's Manliness and Civilization, and I found a passage that I think has something to do with the idea of marriage as an act of rape. Bederman is writing about the relationship between men and women where women serve as the object of man's sexual desire while the man is the "sexual selector" who holds the cards in deciding whom he would like to marry. She writes, "Women must return to the...position of sexual selector...man as sexual selector-as rapist-must be abolished" (156). She argues that because man gets the choice in wife (reminder: she is writing about a different time than we live in) he gets to choose based on his sexual attraction, and that no matter her feelings, the marriage will be consummated. This is a slightly different direction than we took it in class because she doesn't discuss the taking of a woman from her family, but, I thought it was interesting nonetheless.

Perhaps this idea that the man has most of the power most of the time is part of the reason that we were saying there seems to be an uneasy relationship between men and women in stories from myth and folk tales....hmmm.

Mythos vs. Logos

You know what's sad? I love the mythos side of life. Fiction, fun, fantasy, myth. Those kind of other-world stories are my favorite to read. The sad part is, I'm immersed in such a "logocentric" world. Academia is all about facts (with the exception of some literature classes, thank goodness) and sadly, I think that although I love the mythos, I am more comfortable in logos. Logos to me represents "the box" that we are always being told to think outside. Why? I am perfectly happy inside the box looking at facts and occasionaly peeking my head out to go out on a limb or two. I wish I wasn't so logos. I'll have to work on my ability to be worry free and adventurous this semester. It'll be good for me in the long run. :O)

Until Later...Cheers!

To shelter or not to shelter?

Bruno Bettelheim disagrees with the mainstream belief in parenting that to be a good parent and raise a well-behaved, angelic, and generally not screwed up child, one must show the child only good, happy images and read him similarly saccharine stories. Bettelheim's argument is that if children are only exposed to the "sunny" side of life as they grow up, when they do eventually encounter some of the darker but inevitable experiences in life they will more likely to react badly. Fairy tales, he explains, present the bad sides of human nature and some of the more difficult struggles that are "part of human existence". By exposing some of these more harsh situations through a medium like fairy tale, children learn about tenacity and hope even in the face of almost certain failure. They learn to use their minds to discern the difference between good and bad for themselves. I think that Bettelheim's point about fairy tales giving kids a "moral education" is his most important. Usually kids don't learn basic morals in a fun way. Being told ten thousand times by mom and dad that it is not nice to be selfish is not fun and often not effective either. Through fairy tales, the child is engaged in a story that takes him somewhere while he learns that if he is nice to the witch next door she'll grant his wishes.

So, I agree with Bettelheim that parents cannot and should not keep fairy tales out of their children's hands, but I do think that there needs to be some consideration for the age and maturity level of a child. I would not sit my 4 year old cousin down and read her anything about Little Red Riding Hood getting naked in bed with the wolf...but, maybe when she's older, she will be able to handle that.

Just to reiterate that "everything is connected"...we are reading a book in my History 313 course called Manliness and Civilization by a woman named Gail Bederman. In chapter 3 she is telling about a man named Stanley Hall whose theory it was that little boys were being babied and as a result were becoming wussy and effeminate. Hall suggested to kindergarten teachers at a conference, "All that rot they teach to children about the little raindrop fairies with their buckets washing down the windows must go...we shall go back to reading the old, bloody stories to children, and children will like to hear them because they are healthy little savages" (Bederman 99). I don't think any of us want little savage children running around, but I think that Bettelheim and Hall would have agreed that to keep the bad from children is a disservice to them.

Why pick on Barney?

When one searches on Google for the phrase "Why do we hate Barney?" the first site on a list of 93,000 hits is this one http://www.silverdragon.com/punkie/cybertusk/kill_barney.html. Please peruse the site at your leisure. I'm having a difficult time putting my finger on a great and profound answer to this question. Part of my problem is probably that it's difficult to intellectually explain a visceral reaction. It's just a feeling. Somewhat like a woman's instinct...do not leave your kids with this dinosaur! I also must admit that I have never really watched "Barney". I was too old to be interested when it was beginning and my little sister, who was the right age, watched movies and played outside more than she watched television. I have only a passing acquaintance with "Barney" through babysitting jobs, and younger cousins. Nevertheless, I don't like him or him show. I think that we've already hit on some major points in class: it's too unrealistic and not educational enough. I don't think that "Barney" gives children anything to grapple with in their own cognitive development. Multiple problems come up and are resolved within a thirty-minute time period and the viewing children are told what the correct solutions to the problems are. Fairy tales and good children's literature call on kids to make judgements of their own, and I think by this, they learn far more than by passively watching an listening to "Barney and Friends."

Now, just a little information to contradict our class consensus about the value of "Barney" to little ones. Following is an excerpt from the "Barney and Friends" website (BE AWARE OF BIAS) about "Barney"'s good effects on kids. Do we argree? Are we smarter than Yale? :O)

Researchers at Yale Commend Barney & Friends

The value of Barney & Friends' educational influence on children has been well documented. Yale University's Family Television Research & Consultation Center produced a series of studies on Barney & Friends, concluding that the show has a very positive educational impact on young children. The show particularly influences language development, one of the early indicators of future success in school, according to the Yale researchers.

In their first study, Drs. Jerome and Dorothy Singer of the Yale Center reported that Barney & Friends was "nearly a model of what a preschool program should be." Later studies indicated that Barney & Friends' positive influence extends to children of culturally diverse and low-income groups. Teachers who took part in the study reported that after viewing Barney & Friends, occurrences of violent and aggressive play were reduced among preschool students. In a study by the Singers, their research illustrates that Barney & Friends helps children be better prepared to enter a structured learning environment. According to the study, episodes in this series were especially strong in dealing with pro-social behaviors and with emotion. "...Barney & Friends continues to be a television series that adds much to our nation's goal to 'ready' children for school." (Singer & Singer, 1999)

Just an interesting note...

When I read Jillian's note on her site about her name's origin and meaning, I thought I'd look up 'Haroun'. Interestingly, according to www.behindthename.com, 'Haroun' is a varient of Harun, as in Harun al-Rashid, a 9th century Abbasid caliph featured in the stories of "The 1,001 Nights". Cool, huh? I thought it was especially interesting that the last name of the "1,001 Nights" historical figure/character is the name of Haroun's dad in Rushdie's book. I didn't find anything exceptionally interesting about the name 'Rashid'...it means "rightly guided" in Arabic.

Read widely...

Today (9/9) in class Dr. Sexson kept returning to the premise that we must read widely and deeply to be able to fully appreciate the Children's lit, and indeed any literature, that we read. Also, as Haas and other essayists are telling us in the collections of Fairy Tales we are reading, there are NO ORIGINALS! There are earlier and later versions which have been added to and subtracted from. These topics reminded me of one of my favorite literary theorists, Northrop Frye. In his short book The Educated Imagination in the chapter entitled "The Keys to Dreamland"(a phrase borrowed from a book we will be reading this semester), Frye writes, "You don't relate [imagination in literature] directly to life or reality: you relate works of literature, as we've said earlier, to each other. Whatever value there is in studying literature, cultural or practical, comes from the total body of our reading, the castle of words we've built, and keep adding wings to all the time" (Frye 95). As Dr. Sexson has pointed out, we cannot understand or recognize the 'signatures' within literature without knowing the archetypes. As I've been reading through the Great Fairy Tale Tradition I have noticed that, within motifs, some of the stories are almost identical except for two or three small differences. Those small differences are what can make Straparola's version of a Cinderella story more personal for you than Basile's version. All literature is built on something and all new literature is built on that. So then, are there EVER really originals????

What's the use of stories that aren't even true?

Haroun's question is a good one. What is the use? More than once in Lit Crit (many many months ago) Dr. Beehler asked us all to ponder the use of studying literature. I think that any answers to that question would apply to Haroun's as well. From what I ca remember of the answers my classmates gave, some expressed that literature helps them learn about new places, new people, and new ideas. Others said that they are able to learn about themselves by reading stories. Still others enjoy the cognitive challenge that analysis of literature gives them. All of these are really great answers to a tough question. The reason that I initially pick-up and eventually purchase a book is because I think that it will entertain me on some level. I like books with adventure, books that make me think, and books that touch me in some way. If I feel like crying, I pick up a Nicholas Sparks novel. When I want to laugh, political literature does the trick.

So, I guess that entertainment is a big reason for me to read stories, but at the same time, I learn from what I read, and I feel like some literature really does "take me away." When I read Harry Potter books, I am engrossed. Completely. Don't talk to me...I'm busy. Those are kinds of "untrue" stories that I think are most popular because they have an effect on their readers. Fiction stories provide us with adventures that we could not otherwise embark on while also showing us some of the most important universal themes to humanity.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. I finished it the day I started it (perhaps that fact speaks to its power over me) so it's been a few days.

For the most part, each of us in this class is an English major. We are constantly discussing the limits of language in expression while also pondering the power of language in its definition of things through naming. On page 63, Rushdie writes, "To give a thing a name, a label, a handle; to rescue it from anonymity, to pluck it out of the Place of Namelessness, in short to identify it- well, that's a way of bringing the said thing into being." Now, this idea that an object or idea cannot exist fully without a name is something that we college lit majors struggle to get our heads around in ENGL300. I find it interesting that Rushdie has included it in his tale. It certainly gives the storyteller a kind of magical power when his words become reality. Even though the concept is deep, the way Rushdie writes it in makes it accessible to the children who will read this book or have it read to them. On a similar note, some of us have been commenting on the question of whether or not we should give kids all levels and kinds of literature to read. Is sugar-coating okay? Or is it better to teach them that familiar phrase "Life's a bitch...and then you die" early on so they have no time to become disillusioned? (I'm not really that cynical...drama makes these more interesting.) I say sugar-coat things as long as they want them sugar-coated. Example: I didn't WANT to know that Santa wasn't real...I found out. OUCH! I would have much preferred to outgrow my belief in Santa rather than have the lady down the street tell me. That said, kids are tough and certainly the anti-Disney versions of fairy tales are interesting. But, if told in the right way, I think that even stories with more adult themes and situations can be appropriate and even quite valuable for kids.

That took a long time...

Did "The Dark Ship" at the end of Haroun remind anyone else of "Super Mario Brothers"...you know the ship that they battle King Koopa (was that his name????) on? Maybe it's just me, but that's the first thing I thought of. Peter Pan, too.

One of the more obvious parallels I saw between Haroun and other literatures that we all know intimately was with Homer's Iliad. Both tales contain a battle for a woman who has been taken from a ruler without his permission. (This princess, unlike Helen, is less than perfect to all but her love. I find her entertaining.) One could argue that despite Haroun's classification as a kid's story, the conflict at its center is even more complex than the Iliad's. Homer's epic is focused on the tug-of-war over Helen, sure other people get involved. In fact, it gets downright messy, but the goal is to get the girl back and destroy Troy. In Haroun the girl needs rescuing, there are shadow people to be rid of, and, most importantly, the Ocean of Stories is at risk and needs to be saved for future generations. What would the world be without new stories? BORING, that's what. Haroun's quest is essential to the entertainment of our world.

Like Michelle, I enjoy the paragraph on page 90 where Rushdie writes, " 'We are the Eggheads,' they nodded...they pointed at the shiny fellow on the grand balcony and said, 'He is the Walrus.'" Long live The Beatles. :O)

I enjoyed the continual references to the "Process 2 Complicated 2 Explain" because the water genie, Haroun's dad, and others kept using it as a cop out for not explaining the truth. I think that often times adult use this excuse with their children. "You wouldn't understand"...."It's complicated"..."You're too young." We should really give kids a chance to understand. They have great ideas; perhaps they could help us out.

This extremely LONG entry is going to take 1,001 years to publish...so I'll end it here.

Until Later...Cheers!

Classmates' Journals Part One...

Here are the journal addresses I have recieved thus far. Check them out for more insight and brilliance into the world of Children's Literature. :O)

Allison http://thegoldenkey.blogspot.com

Hali http://www.livejournal.com/users/halijc_kids/

Ginnell http://www.livejournal.com/users/ghalstad/

Abbie http://www.abbiej.blogspot.com/

Tristan http://theblackforeststudios.blogspot.com

Cindy http://Cinbad.blogspot.com

Liz www.lizkendallonlinejournal.blogspot.com

Lindsay Beck http://www.livejournal.com/users/lbeck/

Drew http://www.livejournal.com/users/drewpogge

Jason "Red Riding Hood" http://english304jaw.blogspot.com/

Libby http://libbyhellekson.blogspot.com/

Lindsey Moos http://www.livejournal.com/users/lindseymoos/

Bridgett http://www.geocities.com/bmpaddock82/childlit.html

Michelle http://www.student.montana.edu/~mhumber

Heather http://barkerhl.blogspot.com

I will continue to update this list as the time goes on. It's easy access for me to see what you all are thinking.

Until Later...Cheers

Principles of storytelling and other thoughts...

As a continuation of the question from Class period One about our favorite children's book...perhaps you all could help me. As children, my sister and I loved a particular book but my parents and myself do not remember the author, title, or even the entire story. Here's the gist, there's a young creature (not a human, he's a little furry guy) and his mother tells him to go to sleep and he doesn't want to. After his mother is gone, he gets out of bed and watches what the grown-ups do after all the kids go to bed. I don't remember anything else. :O( Any help, however small, would be appreciated. This is driving me CRAZY!!!

Now, in class on Thursday we were told the three principles of storytelling. 1) Never get to the end too quickly! 2) In Haroun's words, never take the short cut if there is a longer, 'twistier' way. The story is in the twists and turns. 3)The moral of the story is the story. I suppose these principles are good to know in general, after all most of us will have children someday, but, they will prove, I think, especially useful when writing our own fairy tales later in the semester. Dr. Sexson mentioned observing kids and taking note of what one sees. I work at the Children's Museum so I see a lot of kids interacting with each other and with them selves every weekend. What I notice everyday is that there is always, in make-believe playing at least, a "good guy" versus "bad guy" dynamic. Furthermore, nobody wants to be the "bad guy." It always ends up being the younger sibling or youngest friend because the older ones are bossy.

Why not be the villain? The villain holds a lot of the power and doesn't have to be scared of anything. Perhaps for girls the association with "good" is beautiful. In Disney's versions, most popular by far with the modern youngsters, of "Sleeping Beauty", "Cinderella", and "Snow White", the villains are described as ugly and wicked while the heroines are beautiful and good. No wonder women grow up with a complex about their role in the world. We are shown from birth that it is valued to be beautiful and obedient...maybe Sleeping Beauty (princess Aurora/Brier Rose) wasn't obedient...she just had to sleep. Anyhow, just a thought.

I have been assigned a place in Group 3 (aka the Cinderellas). I'm excited. If it couldn't be "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella is my next choice. My group seems like a vibrant and lovely group of ladies. I'm sure we will have fun and produce something great!

I have started to read the Norton Critical Edition of "The Great Fairy Tale Tradition." I am enjoying myself! More on my journey with those tales soon.

Until later...Cheers!

My Favorite Children's Books...

In response to the question about our favorite book from childhood, I'd have to say that as far as picture books go, "Harry the Dirty Dog" and "Chicken Little" were two of my favorites. Conveniantly for mom and dad, both books lived at my Grandparents' house so they were only forced to read them repeatedly for a few weeks every summer. At our home, we enjoyed any Dr. Seuss Classics, and books featuring the Bearenstein Bears (specifically "The Spooky Old Tree"). Three books I remember distinctly though, are "One Minute Bedtime Stories" by Shari Lewis, "Baby Strawberry Shortcake and Fig Boot's Happy Day"by Patricia Lakin Koenigsberg, and finally, Theo LeSieg's classic "Hooper Humperdink...? NOT HIM!". I have these three books in front of me for the first time in years and it is truly amazing how much just looking at the pictures makes me smile.

I still enjoy children's books for various reasons. For me though, the biggest draw to children's lit is in its creativity.No topic is too fantastic or incredible for the child's imagination and I love that. One can read a book meant for a five year old and fully believe that there are such things as faries, giants, and genies. I love "Harry Potter" for this very reason. Rowling has created a detailed and full world, so separate from our world that I get lost in it.

On a similar note, I have just finished reading Salman Rushdie's "Haroun and the Sea of Stories." Despite my pile of other assignments to begin tonight, finishing that book was calling to me because I wanted to know how it ended. I wanted to know wheter Haroun and Rashid (the Shah of Blah, the Ocean of Notions) got back home safely and happily with new stories to tell. I was pleased by the ending. :O)

Until later...Cheers!